What to do after a Truck Accident in Virginia?
If you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident with a commercial vehicle, such as a truck, tractor-trailer, Amazon van, or any other large truck on the road, you recognize that this is an incredibly traumatic experience. Even after you've been released from the hospital, you may be confused and unclear about how to proceed. Blaszkow Legal can help to sort through the things that need to be done, and can help you to take steps to protect yourself, and to protect your case! - so you can improve your chance of obtaining the compensation that you deserve for your injuries.
Blaszkow Legal Virginia's leading truck accident law firm. We will guide you through every step of the process of filing a truck accident claim, investigating your lawsuit, arranging medical care, and fighting to get you the justice that you deserve.
The guide that we have written (below) explains what you need to do at the scene of the accident, and afterwards:
At The Scene of the Truck Accident
1 - Call the police!
Don't make the mistake of falling for some of the Reddit misinformation out there. Even if you think that the police department is not going to come out because there is no blood or fire, you should always call 911! This phone call does several things, not least of which is fulfill your legal obligation to report the crash. Your telephone call automatically triggers GPS searching by the local emergency dispatch center. It confirms the time and the place of the motor vehicle accident that we may be able to obtain, later on, if there is some question about the location of the crash. People who are traveling from out of town, or through an area that they are not too familiar with, may not realize exactly where the accident happened, and this piece of information is vital to our investigation.
If the police decline to respond (which is unusual in a truck accident), that is their decision. You should not make that decision for them. Hopefully they will come out, because a police report is an extremely important piece of evidence in any Virginia truck accident case. One of the things that we do as soon as we open up your file is get a copy of the actual report.
Note: a police report is different than the Insurance Exchange Form that you are handed at the scene.
2 - Record Everything!
Document, document, document! Every picture that you take, and every video that you record is evidence. Ultimately, we may not utilize it all, nor may we send it all to the at-fault insurance carrier. However, the evidence that you create is going to help us to investigate your case, and prove our allegations against the at-fault driver. A picture is worth a thousand words, and in the era of digital cameras, you simply cannot have too many.
You want to take pictures of these kind of things after a truck accident:
Damage to your car
Damage to the truck
Signage on the truck, such as name and DOT number
Signage on the trailer, such as Hazmat placards and names
Pictures of driver's licenses
Pictures of insurance card
Traffic signs and roadway markers
Surveillance cameras and roadway cameras
Injuries
Spilled chemicals
Witnesses/passengers
3 - Get accurate information
Again, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet. Some websites and forum posts will tell you just to get a picture of the other drivers insurance card. That is not enough! The insurance card tells you who is paying for the policy, and who are the specifically named insureds. But your case is not against the insurance company, or the people paying for that policy, necessarily. Your case is against the driver of the car or truck that caused the crash! It's important to properly identify the driver of the at-fault vehicle.
You should always get a picture of the other drivers driver's license, and
also write down (separately) contact information. This includes phone
number and email.
Make sure that you get the name, address, and phone number of the company that owns the truck! And the company that's operating the truck, as they are not always the same. For example, if you are in an accident with a vehicle that says Amazon on the side, Amazon may own that truck. However, the truck may be owned/operated by what Amazon calls a dedicated service provider, which is a contractor that is paid special permission to put "Amazon" on the side of that van!
After the crash
4 - Get Medical Treatment
It is extremely important that you seek medical attention, especially after a truck accident. Trucks weigh tens of thousands of pounds, whether it's an 18-wheeler that can hold up to 80,000 lbs., or a dualie pickup with a load in the bed. These vehicles have a lot of inertia, and you may have been thrown around your vehicle from the impact. Not all injuries are immediately apparent. Whiplash, internal bleeding, concussions, and other head injuries have to be evaluated by a competent medical provider, who can fully evaluate you and your symptoms. This means going to a hospital or an urgent care center.
If the doctor make some recommendations, then you need to follow those recommendations. This shows everyone that you are serious about your health, and that you are dedicated to getting back to where you were before the accident
5 - Contact a Virginia Truck Accident Lawyer!
Do not call an insurance company first! You need to talk to a truck accident lawyer at Blaszkow Legal before you talk to anyone except for a doctor. Why? Because Virginia is a contributory negligence state. This means that if the insurance company can argue that you were at fault for the accident in the slightest way, even only 1%, then they can deny your claim. So anything you say can and will be used against you, not just by the at-fault party's insurance carrier, but even by your own. A truck accident case to be extremely complicated, and can usually call on the insurance resources of multiple carriers. And experienced truck accident lawyer is going to protect you, even from yourself.
Let Blaszkow Legal make the telephone calls for you, to all insurance carriers. Ultimately, with respect to property damage, we will allow the insurance company to speak to you to oversee the inspection, evaluation, and repair of your vehicle - but only after they have been informed of our representation, and only after we've narrowed down what they can talk to you about. We need to make sure that what you were talking about is only the property damage.
Have you been hurt in a truck accident in Virginia?
Truck accidents are extremely complicated, and will many times wind up in litigation, even if the at-fault insurance company plans to settle. Remember, that the goal of every Insurance Company is to make you go away for as little money as possible! Our job is to fight for all of the compensation that you are entitled to. Get Justice with Joe Blaszkow, and call us today!
Blaszkow Legal has offices in Alexandria and Richmond, but can handle cases throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as DC and Maryland. Our team has handled all kinds of truck accidents, involving everything from Vans and Pickups to delivery trucks to 18 wheelers that have killed innocent motorists. If you or a family member or friend has been hurt in a truck accident, then call the right lawyer. Call Blaszkow Legal, the Virginia Truck Accident Attorneys, for a free consultation!
Alexandria/Northern Virginia Office:
5270 Shawnee Road #102, Alexandria, Va. 22312
703-879-5910
Richmond Office:
7824 Shrader Road, Richmond, Va. 23294
804-273-8929
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